Recycled Poetry Contest results

Last week in honor of the Campus Read author visit on Wednesday, Albertsons Library held a Recycled Poetry Contest in which we cut up photocopied pages from the Campus Read book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, and invited students to create original poetry using the words from the book (along the lines of Magnetic Poetry, but without the magnets).

The contest took place during a three-hour fair on the quad, and students had to make up poems on the spot! We were delighted to receive 27 submissions, all of which were excellent, and we all had a great time playing with words at the fair.

We have a winner! Our three judges -- Janet Holmes and Tom Hillard from English, and Sara Seely from the Library -- reviewed all the submissions and ranked their top three. It was quite a challenge with all those wonderful entries, but only one could win. One poem appeared on all three of our judges' lists: the "Circle Poem by Ben." Congratulations to Ben for his winning poem! He will receive a $20.00 gift card to Starbucks.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped make our contest a success! We all had a great time and will plan to do this again next year.

Note: If you missed out on this contest, be sure to follow us on Facebook to keep track of library news and announcements in the future!

Fast Track to Graduate Student Success

Albertsons Library is hosting an open-house welcome specifically for graduate students called Fast Track to Graduate Student Success. This series features both an in person event, and web based workshops.

The face to face welcome on Sept. 9, 2010 is designed for both new and returning graduate students and features skill building, networking, meeting your librarian liaisons, and learning new services in the library. During Fast Track you will gain tips and strategies that will bolster your success at Boise State University.

In addition to a welcome, and meetings with your library liaison, the three workshops available at Fast Track will be: How to Conduct a Literature Review, Understanding the Thesis and Dissertation Process, and Navigating Albertsons Library. This event takes place on Thursday, September 9, 2010 from 9am - noon. Can't stay for the whole morning? Drop in whenever you would like! To find out more information, including the schedule and to sign up, go to http://guides.boisestate.edu/graduatestudents.

Additionally, Albertsons Library is hosting several other workshops during this coming semester. We look forward to meeting with you! To sign up for any of these events, please visit this web page: http://guides.boisestate.edu/graduatestudents or email amyvecchione@boisestate.edu if you have any questions.

Library Low-down - 12-1pm daily

Spend 10 minutes with us and get an intro to the library: how to find articles and books, borrow a laptop, print a paper and more. Drop in anytime between noon and 1:00 pm, just inside the library on the first floor. These quick intros will be available until Friday, August 27. Optional tours available, too.

Your Library is Ready!

Albertsons Library is ready for Fall 2010! We have lots of great resources to make your research endeavors shine. Here’s a quick list of what you can expect at the library this semester:

• For students, over 110 computers with Microsoft Office 2007, laptops (Macs & PCs) for checkout, and library pages geared toward your scholarly needs (check it out: undergraduate and graduate). Plus we have two multimedia stations with additional hardware and software to create and edit multimedia projects.
• Library pages for Faculty. You will find links to a variety of library resources targeted to your scholarly and teaching needs, from library services and collections to contact information for the library liaison to your department.
• A Starbucks coffee shop on the first floor. Get your caffeine fix here!
  
• Have questions about research, campus, or anything at all? We’re available to help you via our reference chat, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Or you can text us your questions at (208) 546-9982.
• Access to thousands of journals and magazines in our growing collection of databases, all available at the A-Z list of databases.
• Find research resources using our extensive interactive subject guides: Criminal Justice, Public Administration, Kinesiology, Sociology and many more via Alberstons Library's LibGuides system.
• Digital screens in presentation rooms on the first and second floors, so you can plug in your laptop and view your presentation on the big screen.
• Got a smart phone? Access the library in our new mobile website. Or Click the QR code below:

Albertsons Library is committed to ensure your academic success at Boise State University. If you have questions or comments, please let us know, or call us at 426-1204. We hope you have a great year!

Library Hosts Photo Exhibition Featuring Farm Workers’ Struggle

Fifteen photos by Claudio Beagarie documenting the struggle of California farm workers for social and economic justice in the 1960s will be on display at the Albertsons Library through Labor Day.

Beagarie, a community activist with a commitment to progressive causes, captured images of farm workers in their homes, in the fields and marching with Cesar Chavez, cofounder of the United Farm Workers of America and the best-known leader of the movement.

The images chronicle some of the dramatic moments of the struggle in 1966 and 1967 — the grape boycott, the march from Delano to Sacramento and the rally in San Francisco — as well as scenes of the everyday life and work of the mainly Latino and Filipino farm workers.

“I have been deeply involved in the Latin American community for the past 40 years,” states Beagarie, who now lives in Boise and holds a degree in geology from Boise State. “I have been an activist and have chronicled events with both pen and camera. By utilizing a candid photo style, I seek to capture the enthusiasm of people involved in struggle. I seek to record the times of happiness and sadness, their times of triumph and defeat. I view my photography as an investigative research tool, as photos can be analyzed at a later date for cultural meanings that are not evident at the time of shooting.”

The 11×14-inch photos are on display in the Special Collections exhibit windows on the library’s second floor and can be viewed whenever the library is open. To check library hours, visit library.boisestate.edu/calendar/main.php.